The first mow is the greenest

Hello, spring weather! Aside from a few April showers, it would appear, friends, that spring has officially arrived here in Muscatine! That’s exciting news for many reasons, specifically the front and back yard at my house.

As of this writing, I have not yet mowed the grass at my house. I’m well aware that I’ve had several opportunities to get outside and get this done, but it hasn’t happened just yet. Should I blame it on the fact that I cannot locate our gas can and really don’t want to go buy another one? That would be lazy of me. Or that I’m not 100% certain that the lawn mower that has sat in the garage all winter will start? Any tricks on making sure that first pull is a success?

I’m also not the greatest when it comes to cutting the perfect pattern into the grass. Driving around Muscatine, I see several homes that look like Major League baseball fields with how precisely cut they are! What’s the secret? We’re not a point where hiring someone to cut the grass makes sense (although I’m tempted to do it and have the best-looking yard on the block) so that job falls squarely at my feet. Do I become the guy who spends time on YouTube watching videos on how to mow the grass? That isn’t cool, right? I’m already the neighbor who cuts the grass with ear buds in, listening to music (always Vintage Sound 93.1 FM—shameless plug) and I hope my neighbors don’t think I’m avoiding them.

I have several projects I’m interested in attempting around the house this spring before that humidity rolls back into town. Talks of having a fence built in the backyard also keep resurfacing, and that’s something that I personally think would be nice; I just don’t think I can handle the installation. Bob Villa, I am not, and I’m perfectly fine admitting that! As a matter of fact, if you know someone who does fences, shoot me an email at [email protected]. I’d appreciate any leads you could provide!